Nation In Focus

June 13, 2012 11:05 PM

Photo: Al Seib, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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An aerial view of a vast patchwork of alkali flats, gravel beds, and green and crimson sheets of ankle-deep water is seen on Owens Lake located at the Southern end of the Owens Valley on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada about 5 miles south of Lone Pine, California, during the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) dust mitigation project on May 29, 2012. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/MCT) less

An aerial view of a vast patchwork of alkali flats, gravel beds, and green and crimson sheets of ankle-deep water is seen on Owens Lake located at the Southern end of the Owens Valley on the eastern side of the ... more

Organist Christopher Keady plays the circular pipe organ at the Agnes Flanagan Chapel Tuesday, June 12, 2012, on the campus of Lewis & Clark College, in Portland, Ore. The Agnes Flanagan Chapel is a 16-sided architectural marvel that seats 650 under stained glass windows depicting the book of Genesis. In the early 1970s, it was also a big, conical quandary. Chapels aren't really chapels unless they have an organ, and the newly-minted structure at Portland's Lewis & Clark College was in need. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) less

Organist Christopher Keady plays the circular pipe organ at the Agnes Flanagan Chapel Tuesday, June 12, 2012, on the campus of Lewis & Clark College, in Portland, Ore. The Agnes Flanagan Chapel is a 16-sided ... more

Rev. Fred Luter, pastor of the Franklin Ave. Baptist Church, delivers a sermon during Sunday Services at the Church in New Orleans, Sunday, June 3, 2012. The new face of a Christian denomination that formed on the wrong side of slavery before the Civil War could be an African-American preacher who grew up in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward. The Southern Baptist Convention holds its annual meeting in New Orleans next week and it could see the election of Luter as president. Faced with growing diversity in America and declining membership in its churches, the denomination is making a sincere effort to distance itself from its troubled racial past. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) less

Rev. Fred Luter, pastor of the Franklin Ave. Baptist Church, delivers a sermon during Sunday Services at the Church in New Orleans, Sunday, June 3, 2012. The new face of a Christian denomination that formed on ... more

Union Hotshot crew, from La Grande Ore., get ready to head back to the fire lines, Wednesday, June 13, 2012, at the firefighter camp at the Nation Guard Armory in Fort Collins, Colo. Over 600 firefighters and crew are working the High Park Fire. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti) less

Union Hotshot crew, from La Grande Ore., get ready to head back to the fire lines, Wednesday, June 13, 2012, at the firefighter camp at the Nation Guard Armory in Fort Collins, Colo. Over 600 firefighters and ... more

Photo: RJ Sangosti, Associated Press

Union Hotshot crew, from La Grande Ore., get ready to head back to... Photo-3067215.44454 - SFGate

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Workers with BHN Corporation wait in a sliver of shade outside their building on Union Ave. in Memphis, Tenn. Wednesday June 13, 2012, before beginning cleanup on a hydraulic fluid spill on Union from a leaky hose. While fire and police units were called in to direct traffic around the slippery stuff, workers from BHN were able to literally sweep in to clean up the spill. (AP Photo/Jim Weber, The Commercial Appeal) less

Workers with BHN Corporation wait in a sliver of shade outside their building on Union Ave. in Memphis, Tenn. Wednesday June 13, 2012, before beginning cleanup on a hydraulic fluid spill on Union from a leaky ... more

Officer Todd Oandasan along with the Animal Care and Control Team members attach a lead to a horse in a residential area on Wednesday, June 13, 2012, in Philadelphia. Two horses were reported left astray and were collected by officials. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) less

Officer Todd Oandasan along with the Animal Care and Control Team members attach a lead to a horse in a residential area on Wednesday, June 13, 2012, in Philadelphia. Two horses were reported left astray and ... more

Photo: Brynn Anderson, Associated Press

Officer Todd Oandasan along with the Animal Care and Control Team... Photo-3067213.44454 - SFGate

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Norman Snipe climbs out of a tank on the port side of the USS Texas after repositioning a pump hose Wednesday, June 13, 2012, in Houston. The 100-year-old battleship's hull sprung a leak five days ago and has been taking on as much as 1,000 gallons of seawater every minute as workers struggle to contain it. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) less

Norman Snipe climbs out of a tank on the port side of the USS Texas after repositioning a pump hose Wednesday, June 13, 2012, in Houston. The 100-year-old battleship's hull sprung a leak five days ago and has ... more

Photo: Pat Sullivan, Associated Press

Norman Snipe climbs out of a tank on the port side of the USS Texas... Photo-3067212.44454 - SFGate

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Bryan House of Kansas City became part of art as he rested in one of the 12 hammocks comprising Jarrett Mellenbruch's Avenue of the Arts installation called Float just south of the Bartle Hall ballroom near 16th and Central streets, Wednesday, June 13, 2012 in Kansas City, Mo.. House said he had the option of working out or relaxing in the hammock as he passed time before going to work as a bartender at Cafe Gratitude on Southwest Boulevard. As he bicycled past the hammocks, he took that option.(AP Photo/The Kansas City Star, Fred Blocher) less

Bryan House of Kansas City became part of art as he rested in one of the 12 hammocks comprising Jarrett Mellenbruch's Avenue of the Arts installation called Float just south of the Bartle Hall ballroom near ... more

Photo: Fred Blocher, Associated Press

Bryan House of Kansas City became part of art as he rested in one... Photo-3067211.44454 - SFGate

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In this photo taken June 5, 2012, visitors to Ramsey Farm ride horses down steep hillside trails just north of Wilmington, Del. More than 1,100 acres of woods and rolling pastures just three miles north of Wilmington will soon be sold to a national preservation group that hopes it becomes Delaware's first national park. The land, purchased more than a century ago by Woodlawn Trustees, includes the Ramsey Farm, Upland Forest, scenic rock outcrops and wetlands along the banks of the Brandywine. It borders landscapes that inspired artists Andrew and Jamie Wyeth. (AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, Robert Craig) NO SALES less

In this photo taken June 5, 2012, visitors to Ramsey Farm ride horses down steep hillside trails just north of Wilmington, Del. More than 1,100 acres of woods and rolling pastures just three miles north of ... more

Photo: Robert Craig, Associated Press

In this photo taken June 5, 2012, visitors to Ramsey Farm ride... Photo-3067210.44454 - SFGate

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Columbus city firefighters cool off a blazing gas line at 1024 Chestnut Street, Wednesday, June 13, 2012, in Columbus, Ind., after the home owner hit the line while digging a post hole. Vectren workers eventually shut off the flow of gas and began repairs. (AP Photo/Joe Harpring, The Republic) less

Columbus city firefighters cool off a blazing gas line at 1024 Chestnut Street, Wednesday, June 13, 2012, in Columbus, Ind., after the home owner hit the line while digging a post hole. Vectren workers ... more

Photo: Joe Harpring, Associated Press

Columbus city firefighters cool off a blazing gas line at 1024... Photo-3067209.44454 - SFGate

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Porche Hopson of the VA work study program puts up an American Flag while helping raise 50 American and state flags at the Avenue of Flags display in front of the VA Central California Health Care facility in Fresno, Calif. Wednesday, June 13, 2012. The flags are being displayed in observance of Flag Day on Thursday. The Avenue of Flags display has been a fixture in front of the hospital since 2006 and has flown the flags on several important dates and holidays each year. (AP Photo/The Fresno Bee, Craig Kohlruss) less

Porche Hopson of the VA work study program puts up an American Flag while helping raise 50 American and state flags at the Avenue of Flags display in front of the VA Central California Health Care facility in ... more

Photo: Craig Kohlruss, Associated Press

Porche Hopson of the VA work study program puts up an American Flag... Photo-3067203.44454 - SFGate

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In this June 12, 2012 photo, Joshua Donavan, 10, swings upside down from his tire swing at his home on Boss Rd. in Chickamauga, Ga. Donavan's best friend, Anna-Lee Robertson was in town visiting from Auburn, Ga. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Ashlee Culverhouse) MANDATORY CREDIT: ASHLEE CULVERHOUSE/CHATTANOOGA TIMES FREE PRESS; NOOGA.COM OUT less

In this June 12, 2012 photo, Joshua Donavan, 10, swings upside down from his tire swing at his home on Boss Rd. in Chickamauga, Ga. Donavan's best friend, Anna-Lee Robertson was in town visiting from Auburn, ... more

Mesalands Community College steer wrestler Hayden Moore grapples with a difficult steer Tuesday, June 12, 2012 during the College National Finals Rodeo at Casper Events Center. (AP Photo/Casper Star-Tribune, Alan Rogers) less

Mesalands Community College steer wrestler Hayden Moore grapples with a difficult steer Tuesday, June 12, 2012 during the College National Finals Rodeo at Casper Events Center. (AP Photo/Casper Star-Tribune, ... more

Fortune Wheeler, left, and Doug Garner show off their acrobatic... Photo-3067200.44454 - SFGate

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Tracy Cookman, right, and Lynnie Long ride horses through Brewster Ranch outside of Bellvue after it was burned by the High Park Fire at on Wednesday, June 13, 2012. The fire has now burned more than 40,000 acres encompassing more than 65 square miles. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, AAron Ontiveroz) less

Tracy Cookman, right, and Lynnie Long ride horses through Brewster Ranch outside of Bellvue after it was burned by the High Park Fire at on Wednesday, June 13, 2012. The fire has now burned more than 40,000 ... more